People in Devizes have been shocked by the stabbing of a middle-aged man at a town centre bus stop at 9.30am on Sunday.

Police arrested a man near the bus stop by The Black Swan and a man and a woman were arrested soon after at a house near the canal at Caen Hill.

Noel Woolrych, chairman of the Devizes Community Area Partnership, said: “This is an extraordinary occurrence for Devizes. You really wouldn’t expect something like this to happen in broad daylight on a Sunday morning. It is quite scary that people think it is all right to come into town armed with a knife or another weapon when they know they will be observed by CCTV.”

Police say the 45-year-old man, who was stabbed in the back, and two men aged 31 and 41 and a woman aged 25, who were arrested, all know each other and are all from Devizes.

The three were arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm but were later released on police bail.

A police spokesman said: “We are appealing for witnesses to this incident which took place between 9.30am and 10am.

“During the incident, the man sustained a puncture wound to his back which is believed to have been caused by a bladed article.”

Police dogs were called to the scene to help with the search on Sunday morning. On Monday officers carried out a fingertip search of the canal towpath.

Mr Woolrych said: “I handed over the tapes for the police to go through. I am sure the cameras will have caught the incident. Most crime in Devizes is minor or if there is fighting it is usually in the early hours and drink-related so for something like this to happen at this time of day is very unusual. There would have been a lot of people about to witness it as there was a Sunday market on.”

Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be left anonymously.